Ep386: Celebrating 10 Years of Sky Press Publications - Christiana Polites 2 - BONUS EPISODE

In this episode I am once joined by Christiana Polites for a bonus episode to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of her independent publishing house, Sky Press Publications.

Christiana recounts the origin of Sky Press Publications, her ongoing collaboration with Dr Nida Chengatsang, and reveals why their venture has never had a coherent business plan.

Christiana takes us through the entire catalogue with anecdotes and reflections about the publishing and reception of books such as “Karmamudra: The Yoga of Bliss” and “Foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism: A Guide to Yuthok's Healing Path”.

Christiana also gives her advice for assembling and leading creative teams and reflects on the future of religious publishing.

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Also available on Youtube , iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:51 - A love of books
03:40 - Founding Sky Press Books with Nida Chenagtsang
07:36 - No business plan
10:16 - Print on demand strategy
12:26 - Dual mission of Sky Press Books
14:53 - Moral aim of the karmamudra book
17:25 - Showing Karmamudra: The Yoga of Bliss
18:14 - Medical perspective gives context to Buddhist teaching
20:32 - Religion and culture
22:22 - Criticism of the karmamudra book
24:00 - “Mirror of Light” book tour anecdotes
25:41 - Weapon of Light: Introduction to Ati Yoga Meditation
26:28 - Nejang: Tibetan Self-Healing Yoga
30:19 - Surprisingly powerful practice
31:40 - Nejang vs tsa lung trulkhor movements
33:50 - Foundations of Sowa Rigpa: A Guide to the Root Tantra of Tibetan Medicine
36:18 - Working with Dr Ben Joffe
39:03 - Reflections on building a team
42:38 - Systems that support the vision
44:18 - Supporters and benefactors
47:17 - How does Sky Press fit into the dharma publishing scene?
49:30 - Let Meditation Be Thy Medicine: The Timeless Healing Wisdom of Tibet
50:50 - Foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism: A Guide to Yuthok's Healing Path
52:44 - Translations into foreign languages
53:48 - Using books for home retreat
55:30 - A Guide to Kunye and the External Therapies of Sowa Rigpa
56:40 - The Flight of the Garuda
58:02 - The Sowa Rigpa Journal, including Steve’s article
59:16 - Thoughts about book collecting
01:00:30 - Advice for those who wish to self publish
01:01:40 - The next decade of Sky Press Publications
01:04:47 - Audiobooks, music, and the arts
01:05:34 - Preserving Tibetan teachings

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Previous episodes with Christiana Polites:
- guruviking.com/search?q=polites

Find out more about Christiana Polites:
- skypresspublications.com
- yangchenma.org/christiana
- purelandfarms.com/teachers

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

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